Differentially expressed microRNAs in maternal plasma for the noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome (trisomy 21).

OBJECTIVES: Most developmental processes are under the control of small regulatory RNAs called microRNAs (miRNAs). We hypothesize that different fetal developmental processes might be reflected by extracellular miRNAs in maternal plasma and may be utilized as biomarkers for the noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal aneuploidies. In this proof-of-concept study, we report on the identification of extracellular miRNAs in maternal plasma of Down syndrome (DS) pregnancies. METHODS: Using high-throughput quantitative PCR (HT-qPCR), 1043 miRNAs were investigated in maternal plasma via comparison of seven DS pregnancies with age and fetal sex matched controls. RESULTS: Six hundred and ninety-five miRNAs were identified. Thirty-six significantly differentially expressed mature miRNAs were identified as potential biomarkers. Hierarchical cluster analysis of these miRNAs resulted in the clear discrimination of DS from euploid pregnancies. Gene targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs were enriched in signaling pathways such as mucin type-O-glycans, ECM-receptor interactions, TGF-beta, and endocytosis, which have been previously associated with DS. CONCLUSIONS: miRNAs are promising and stable biomarkers for a broad range of diseases and may allow a reliable, cost-efficient diagnostic tool for the noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of DS.

Duplications and copy number variants of 8p23.1 are cytogenetically indistinguishable but distinct at the molecular level.

It has been proposed that duplications of 8p23.1 are either euchromatic variants of the 8p23.1 defensin domain with no phenotypic consequences or true duplications associated with developmental delay and heart defects. Here, we provide evidence for both alternatives in two new families. A duplication of most of band 8p23.1 (circa 5 Mb) was found in a girl of 8 years with pulmonary stenosis and mild language delay. BAC fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and multiplex amplifiable probe hybridisation (MAPH) showed that the two copies of the duplicated segment were sited, in an alternating fashion, between three copies of a circa 300-450 kb segment from 8p23.1 distal to REPD. Copy number of the variable 8p23.1 defensin domain was consistent with duplication but within the normal range. Duplication of the GATA-binding protein 4 gene (GATA4) in this patient and others with and without heart defects, suggests it is a dosage-sensitive gene with variable penetrance. A cytogenetically similar duplication of 8p23.1 was found at prenatal diagnosis in a fetus, father and grandmother. There was no duplication using BAC FISH but MAPH showed 11 copies of the 360 kb variable defensin domain which is within the expanded range found in previous euchromatic variant carriers. Semiquantitative FISH (SQ-FISH) was consistent with a simultaneous expansion of the adjacent olfactory receptor repeats. These results distinguish duplications of 8p23.1 with clinically significant consequences from benign copy number variants, which have not yet been associated with qualitative or quantitative traits.